The Stolen Child
by Anath Tsurugi
Summary: Kili is stolen from the cradle and spirited away to the hidden kingdom of the elves. What happens when he and Fili meet again, not realizing they are siblings? How can Fili rescue Kili from the clutches of the elves? (Fairytale AU, based on the story of Tam Lin. Incest, rape, and a little bit of mpreg.)
1. Part 1

(A/N) After several requests to continue my last fairytale AU, I got the idea for this story. The Wild Swan is pretty well complete as it is, but I can still write fairytales for Fili and Kili, because really, they're just too adorable. The story is loosely inspired by the tale of Tam Lin and other disparate little pieces of faerie lore are all thrown in for a nice little faerie stew. Hopefully, something at least marginally enjoyable has come out of it. Also, the title of the story comes from the poem that appears in it, William Butler Yeats' "The Stolen Child."

A few warnings: There will, of course, be themes of kidnap and rape in this story, as well as incest and a little bit of mpreg. Gonna go ahead and tell you now, the Durincest in this story is a great deal more explicit than it was in the last one, so you can skedaddle if you don't think it's for you. Also, I confess to horribly mutilating elf culture, but really, who else in Middle-earth is going to play the role of the faerie folk? And now, let us see what sort of mischief they all can get up to.

**The Stolen Child**

**Part 1**

_Once upon a time, which is all times and no times, but not the very best of times, there lived a little dwarf prince who was of the opinion that his baby brother was the most beautiful creature to ever grace the land. The baby dwarf had been born under the light of a full moon and he was quickly beloved of the entire kingdom of Erebor. So great was the child's beauty, his renown spread quickly mere months after his birth. His presentation ceremony was better attended than any dwarf prince who had come before him. The older prince didn't mind all the attention his little brother received, though, for he truly loved the dwarfling. He would often insist that no one in all the world loved his little brother better than he did. _

XxX

Five-year-old Prince Fili smiled as he waved a toy over his baby brother's head. Two-month-old Kili cooed and reached for it with his tiny, pudgy fingers. Fili had never heard the phrase before, but what he experienced upon hearing his baby brother's bell-like laugh was the feeling of his heart melting. No one touched the prince's heart like his baby brother did.

"Guess this is all kinda boring for you," Fili said, briefly glancing away from his brother's cradle and looking around the throne room, at all the foreign royalty and dignitaries who had come to see his brother crowned as a royal prince. Everyone fell in love with Kili at first sight. It seemed to be almost inevitable…but Fili was quick to remind them all that _he_ was Kili's favorite, always standing beside the cradle, glaring at anyone who lingered too long. "Well, don' worry," he continued, turning his attention back to his brother. "When they all leave, we'll go right back to havin' fun."

Fili tried to remain at his brother's side, but at some point during the afternoon's festivities, his mother dragged him away from the cradle, wanting to meet with a delegation from the Iron Hills. His uncle, Thorin, who was King Under the Mountain, was apparently looking to secure a stronger alliance with his cousin, Dain, who was Lord of the Iron Hills. Thorin had a nephew and Dain had a daughter. The only thing that remained to be seen was whether or not they could get on. It was how these things were done.

The other dwarfling was interesting, Fili supposed, but he was really only concerned with getting back to his brother…especially when a new and frightening voice reached his ears over the noise of the crowd.

"This child is much too lovely to be a dwarf's get," the voice announced for all to hear. "Has the young princess been lying with one of _my_ knights?"

Fili looked up to see a tall, imposing figure standing over his brother's cradle. It was Thranduil, king of the fair folk…the elves…faeries. Everyone treated them with kindness and respect, but at the same time, everyone knew that elves were _different_…that it was not wise to upset them. But dwarves had never been known for being wise where the elves were concerned.

"I will thank you, Thranduil, to take back your insult. My sister has known no bed but her husband's," Thorin said, moving toward the elf king.

"You had best be careful, little king…lest one of my people come in the night and steal your precious princeling away. We make much of beautiful children, Thorin."

Upon hearing this, Fili darted through the crowd, throwing himself in front of the cradle and flinging his arms wide, making as much a shield of himself as he possibly could. He was still barely a dust mite compared to the elf king, but that mattered little to him. He was not going to let this faerie anywhere _near_ his brother.

"Leave Kili alone!"

Thranduil chuckled at the sight of him, but he didn't back down even one inch. He continued to glare up at the king.

"Don' touch him! Don' even _look_ at him!"

The elf king reached a hand down to stroke his blonde hair. Fili very seriously considered biting him.

"Well, little prince, I suppose you are brave," he said, leaning down and pressing a kiss to the top of his head. All of a sudden, Fili found he couldn't move. He was frozen where he stood. He couldn't even cry out in protest when Thranduil moved past him to reach down into the cradle. Kili gazed up at him in wonder as he reached a hand down to stroke his plump cheek. But then he bent over him and pressed a kiss to his forehead.

"Keep this kiss, my little one, until I lay eyes upon your lovely face again."

At this, Kili began to wail and Fili was driven even deeper into despair.

_Kili's crying. He __**needs**__ me! I have to help him!_

Then, just as suddenly as he'd appeared, Thranduil was gone, and Fili was released from his enchantment. Immediately, he turned and reached into the cradle. He wasn't quite tall enough to lift Kili from the cradle, but he could at least offer him his hand, which Kili latched onto at once, snuggling as close as he could.

"Don' you be scared, Kili. I'm gonna protect you. I won' let him touch you," he vowed. It was a promise he intended to keep.

XxX

_The young prince's heart was true when he made his vow, but the cunning of an elf who wants something is not to be trifled with. Several months later, after his threat had been forgotten, Thranduil made good his designs on the baby prince._

XxX

Fili was having trouble sleeping. Insomnia was not something he was used to dealing with. After a long day of playing with Kili, he was normally ready to pass out the moment he hit the sheets. Not so tonight. Something was bothering him…itching just at the back of his mind. Just as he was getting up to light a candle, perhaps read a book or talk to Kili, their bedroom window suddenly blew open, and in the glow of the full moon shining down, Fili beheld a tall, slender figure crouching on the windowsill.

Vaguely, it occurred to Fili there was something wrong with this situation…that this person shouldn't be here, but for some reason, he couldn't summon the words to protest. Something about this ethereal figure just stilled his tongue…and then he began to sing, leaving the young prince struck utterly dumb.

_Come away, O mortal child,_

_To the waters and the wild,_

_With a faerie, hand in hand,_

_For the world's more full of weeping than_

_You can understand._

For what felt like ages, Fili just sat, listening to the enchanting voice, and he felt that he could have gone on listening forever. He made not one sound of protest as the fey figure slipped down from the sill and glided across the floor toward Kili's cradle. He could find no argument in his head as his baby brother pulled himself to his feet in the cradle, reaching up toward the elf with enchanted wonder in his dark eyes.

_Come away, O mortal child,_

The moment the elf bent to take his sibling from the cradle, the spell was broken. Fili leapt from his bed and sprang to the cradle.

"Stay away!" he shouted, flinging himself between his brother and danger. As he gazed up into the elf's eyes, he realized he'd seen them before. Thranduil.

_To the waters and the wild,_

Fili tried to fight the enchantment, but the elf king was forcing layer upon layer of magic on his mind with his voice. Fili couldn't manage to do more than shake his head as Thranduil moved past him once again, lifting Kili from his cradle.

_With a faerie, hand in hand,_

The spell seemed to break for Kili when he realized that someone was taking him away from his brother. He began to scream and cry, reaching out for Fili. It helped to break the enchantment a little more, but Fili could still only manage to reach out a hand for Kili, reaching desperately across the ever-growing space between them.

"Ki…Ki…li…"

_For the world's more full of weeping than_

_You can understand._

"You have an overdeveloped sense of loyalty," Thranduil told him as he stepped up onto the sill with the wriggling Kili in his arms. "That just might get you into trouble someday. Only give your loyalty to another; forget about this one. The child is mine now."

Then, with one last wail from Kili, the elf king was gone, and Fili was throwing himself at the window, screaming.

"No! Don't! Please don't! My brother, he's…my _baby brother!_ Oh, you _can't take him!_" he cried, reaching out into the night, grasping at empty air. That was how the guards and his mother found him, slumped half out of the open window and sobbing in despair.

"Kili…_Kili!_"

XxX

_For years and years, the dwarves of Erebor searched for their lost prince, none harder than the young heir to the throne. They searched, and they searched and searched, but they found no trace of the lovely, dark-haired princeling. No mortal creature ever found an elf unless he __**wanted**__ to be found. _

_Almost before the young prince realized it, seven years had passed away in the blink of an eye. He was a very lonely child, purely by his own choice. After losing his brother, playing with other children brought him no joy. The only thing that would have made him happy would have been to find his baby brother…to be able to hold him again…except that after seven years, he had no idea what the dwarfling might look like._

_When the prince was old enough to go out into the forest by himself, it was all his mother and uncle could do to get him to come inside at night. He never admitted it to anyone, but being outside made him feel somehow closer to his lost brother. The tiny baby had disappeared into the night, after all…out into the open air. It was well the young prince enjoyed the outdoors so much, for it happened one day he was out exploring a bit of forest he'd never encountered before when everything suddenly changed._

XxX

Fili was absolutely certain he'd heard giggling. He kept turning about, searching through the greenery, menacing his unseen opponent with the blunt blade Uncle Thorin allowed him to carry. His enemy didn't need to know his weapon wasn't much good, though.

"Where are you? Show yourself!" the twelve-year-old prince demanded of his plainly amused adversary.

Then he turned…and found a dwarfling standing behind him…or at least he was the proper size to be a dwarfling. There was something…off about him. There was something…other about this lad…like what Fili had felt in the presence of elves. His smile was like a hook in the young prince's heart, and his dark eyes pierced him like javelins. Despite everything about the boy that screamed _elf_, Fili's ultimate thought…was that this child was beautiful. He couldn't very well _say_ that to him, though.

"You stink of elf," he muttered to the boy, who couldn't have been much more than seven or eight. Although, unlike most dwarflings that age, he didn't pout at indirectly being called an elf. His smile just grew even bigger…and his pull even stronger.

"Play with me," he said, giggling again.

"Who are you?" Fili asked, even though he knew his body had already consented to the boy's request, no matter what his mind tried to say.

"Play with me…Prince Fili," he practically sang, hopping from one foot to the other.

"Who are you and how do you know my name?" Fili demanded.

"You can know my name…if you play with me…Fili," he said, lingering over the prince's name like it was a sweet in his mouth. Fili couldn't help the way his body shuddered at the sound of it.

"Fine. What do I have to do?"

"Cover your eyes and count to one hundred…then come and find me…and no cheating," he added as Fili did what he asked and covered his eyes. Honestly, he hadn't played hide and seek since he was _six._ Who _was_ this boy?

When the prince at last reached one hundred, he quickly went off in search of his quarry. Some part of him had secretly feared that if he broke the boy's rules, he would never be able to find him again…never be able to see him. All the same, he had a time of it finding the strange little boy. Just when he was starting to get frantic, thinking of calling for him, he heard a tiny giggle. Quickly, he reached into a seemingly undisturbed thicket of spring grass and pulled the boy out

"Found you," Fili gloated.

"Only 'cuz I _let_ you," the little boy pointed out.

"No," Fili said seriously. "I will _always_ find you."

The boy smirked at this, leaning in close to whisper in Fili's ear, "They call me Kir."

With that, little Kir disappeared into the gathering night, and Fili realized what had seemed so strange about him. In most respects, Kir looked like a young dwarf…except for the ears. Like an elf, those tiny ears swept back into points, rather than rounding off.

XxX

_If the king and his sister had found keeping the young prince indoors difficult before, it became almost impossible after that chance encounter. Every chance he had, he would sneak away to be with the young boy, and in this way, they grew up together._

XxX

Fili had always thought of Kir as being beautiful, but it wasn't until the day of the boy's sixteenth birthday that the prince felt the first stirrings of sexual desire for him…the night Kir had first kissed him.

"It's my sixteenth birthday tonight," he said to Fili as he sauntered up to him, draping himself over the prince's body, leaving the older dwarf in shock, not over the intimate contact (Kir had _no_ concept whatsoever of personal space), but that the other had shared something personal with him. They had gotten on for nearly ten years without sharing information like that. They just…loved being together. They didn't really need any more than that. But now…

"I want to play a different kind of game tonight," he said, his dark eyes fixed on Fili's lips as an almost delicate fingertip trailed along his jaw line. Then, almost before Fili realized what was happening, Kir was kissing him…and he was kissing back. Kir ground against him and his body reacted favorably to the contact, unleashing what must have been years of pent up, unrealized _want_. He wanted the warm body pressed against his as he had wanted nothing else in all his life.

Just as Fili was realizing he'd gone completely stiff in his trousers, though, the rest of him tensed up, as well, and he shoved Kir away.

"We can't…be doing this. We're…we're _friends_…"

"So?" Kir pressed, smiling lasciviously at him.

"So…it's…we just _can't_," he repeated, quickly fleeing the scene. He didn't even get back to the castle before collapsing against a tree and baring himself, so great was his need. He just stroked himself until he finally came, all over his hand and on the ground…but even his release did not bring him relief. He remained hard, and he just couldn't _stop_ touching himself…couldn't stop until his thighs were slick with his release and he had groaned Kir's name a hundred times over…all while imagining himself thrusting between his friend's own quivering thighs.

What _was_ this strange power Kir held over him?

XxX

_The two danced around each other like that for four years: stealing secret kisses and furtive touches…gazing at each other until they just couldn't bear it anymore and had to make each other come undone with their hands. It was on the night of the prince's twenty-sixth birthday that the tension between them finally burst._

XxX

"Play with me, Fili," Kir nagged at him as he draped himself over Fili's back, nibbling at his ear as he covered his eyes with his hands.

"You want to play?" Fili asked. They hadn't done that in years. Though the shudders that traveled down his spine at the feel of Kir's teeth on his flesh were certainly game enough for him, Kir seemed to have more in mind.

"Of course. Hide and seek, just what we used to do…and when you find me, I'll give you your birthday present."

As usually happened whenever Kir got like this, Fili couldn't help the trembling that ran through his body. Everything about this situation was dangerous; everything about it made him want to ravish the elf-smelling dwarf senseless. At the same time, though, something in him was helpless to disobey Kir's whims. Prince though he was, he was like a dog at his master's feet where the younger one was concerned. He knew Kir could feel it the moment his eyes fluttered shut beneath his hands. The moment he began to count, Kir vanished into the forest. Then, the second he was able, Fili was off like a shot.

He had learned to track Kir by his elvin scent. It wasn't so much that he could still smell it when he was away from the younger dwarf. It was more that he had to force himself to follow the sense that something was wrong. An elf was such a contrary thing to a dwarf, it was a simple enough thing to do; it just grated on his nerves…and when his nerves couldn't possibly be anymore grated than they already were, Fili gazed into the branches overhead…only to find Kir smirking down at him.

The strange creature quickly leapt down on top of him and they wrestled each other to the ground, rolling around in the undergrowth with an abandon neither had ever known before.

"Mine!" Kir growled against his ear. "Fili is _mine_…and let no creature, mortal or otherwise, forget it."

"Huh…nngh…Kir…_ah…Kir!_" Fili moaned aloud, grinding furiously against the smaller body on top of his.

It briefly occurred to the prince to protest when Kir began to tear at his clothing, but he just didn't want to anymore. He could no longer fight what his body wanted: to have this dark, mysterious, _beautiful_ creature, any way he possibly could. At this point, he no longer cared whether Kir topped…which he seemed to be aiming at, the way he was so aggressively stripping both of them of their clothing. Almost before Fili knew it, he was naked in Kir's arms.

"You cannot…_imagine_…how long I've…_wanted_ this," Kir sighed against his skin, kissing everything he could get at. Fili made no argument, as he was too busy marking as much unblemished skin as he could reach with tiny love bites, decorating his neck and shoulders with them. Kir groaned with every bite, his pale skin flushing red with desire.

As the moon shone down on them, Fili found his back pinned against the trunk of an ancient oak. Pinned between the oak and Kir's body, he acutely felt the scrape of bark against his back as Kir lifted his hips, moving him to settle in his lap. Upon feeling the strength of his lover's desire pressed against him, Fili's breath hitched in both anticipation and a little fear. He had lain with both men and women, but this was still a position that was entirely new to him.

"Don't worry," Kir soothed, as if he'd read his mind. "It is strange to me, too."

The prince didn't have time to ponder the meaning of that statement, as Kir was suddenly pushing into him, hard and whole. Even though he'd braced himself for it, he felt no pain. He felt only veins of heat and pleasure undulate outward from the place where their bodies joined…as if his body were opening up for him…reclaiming something that had been lost.

In the light of day, Fili would have been ashamed of the sounds he made, but here, under the cloak of night, Kir made his body sing in ways no other lover before him ever had, and he gladly called out his name, crying his passion to the night. Kir worshipped him just as fully with his own voice as they rocked together…back and forth…up and down. It could have been an eternity or only a moment they hovered there, trapped on the edge of bliss.

Then, finally, frozen in a last moment of exquisite agony, Kir seized Fili's ear in his mouth and whispered harshly to him, "Come for me, my love. Let me see you _spill!_"

Fili obeyed unquestioningly, spilling his seed messily between them with a strangled cry. Only a few more hard thrusts and Kir was bursting with him, filling his body with his salty essence. Fili was nearly surprised to acknowledge he had not felt this complete in many years. Not since…since his brother was lost…

_His __**brother!**_

As Kir slowly extricated himself from him and leaned down over his belly, licking him clean with a mischievous glint in his eyes, Fili lay against the tree trunk, thoughts racing through his head at a mile a minute.

A dwarfling touched by elf magic…who had no ties to other dwarves…dark hair, dark eyes. His brother would be about the same age Kir was now. Could it be…could it really be that in his lover…he had also found the beloved baby brother he'd lost such a long time ago? It couldn't _be_…could it? How had he not noticed before now?

"_Only give your loyalty to another; forget about this one. The child is mine now."_

_Kir…__**Kili!**_

"Kir?" he whispered, running his fingers through his lover's dark hair as the younger lay down against him, pillowing his head against his chest. "Have…have you ever been known by any other name besides Kir?"

Kir looked up at him with an odd look in his eyes. Slowly, he nodded.

"Yes."

"Well?"

"Well…what I _should_ say is that I know I was born with another name, but I don't know what it was. I was too young to remember. I suppose you know elves like to steal beautiful children. I'm probably the only dwarf child they've ever taken such a liking to. The point is they stole me from my cradle and raised me. I don't know who they stole me from. They give each child they steal a new name, though. When we…lose our names…we lose touch with who we were…who we might have been…and we belong to them…so long as they keep possession of our true names."

"Kili," Fili said softly, reaching down a hand to stroke his baby brother's cheek, for he was certain now. "Your true name is Kili."

"Kili," the younger one repeated, a look of wonder shining in his eyes as the name broke over him like a wave. He clung to it in the deluge of absolute rightness that flooded his heart…a heart that had so long been bereft of true feeling. His love spoke the truth. "My name…my…name. I've got my name back," he said, tears shining in his eyes as the elvin enchantment that had held sway for so long slowly started to release its grip on his soul.

"Yes…Kili…Kili," Fili repeated with him, pulling his brother in close for another kiss, for he felt no differently toward him than he had before he had realized the truth. If anything, this felt even more right. Without his brother, a part of him had been missing for a very long time. To realize he had been with him nearly all along…he had never expected to be able to feel this kind of happiness again. Kir…Kili…lover _and_ brother…he could ask for nothing better. Kili had been his heart and soul from the very beginning, even if he'd been too small to understand what that meant.

"Kili…" his brother whispered yet again, but then he seemed to realize something and he looked up at Fili once again. "But…Fili…how could you know-"

Before Kili could finish the question, another voice sounded nearby, calling for Kir, echoing throughout the forest and sending a chill down Fili's spine. He had heard it before. Where?

"Oh, no," Kili hissed, leaping off of Fili and throwing his clothes on almost in the blink of an eye. Fili slowly got to his feet, pulling on his breeches and trousers.

"What's going on? Who is that?"

"Not now. Later," Kili insisted, frantically shoving Fili further back into the forest. "You're in danger here. Don't make a sound. No…better yet…" he started, and Fili suddenly felt the pull of branches at his limbs, reaching out to trap him.

"Wha- what are-"

Before he could protest any louder, Kili sealed his lips with a kiss. When he pulled away, a leaf slid over Fili's mouth, preventing further sound.

"Trust me, it's better this way. I'll be back to let you down soon, but if he finds you, he might kill you."

Fili tried to struggle, but the forest held him completely immobilized at his little brother's behest. He could only watch in frozen silence as Kili slipped back into the clearing where they'd so lately made love…only to come face to face with the elf king himself.

Thranduil.

The years had not changed the ancient king even a little bit, Fili found himself thinking, his heart burning with rage as he gazed upon his enemy, the one who had stolen his brother in the first place.

"Ah, here you are, my little Kir. I thought I'd asked you to stay home tonight," the elf king said, a hint of warning in his voice.

"Yes, well, I took that as more of a request than a command," the young dwarf jibed, slipping into the mischievous, heartless persona Fili had grown familiar with. "It's so _boring_ to stay in when the moon's out."

"But you know I'll be leaving at first light. I had hoped you'd be there to see me off," he said. The conversation was amiable, but Thranduil was circling Kili as a hunter circles its prey, and the two were eyeing each other in much the same way. "After all, my darling Kir, you _know_ you're my favorite," he continued, finally coming to Kili and laying his hands on his hips in such a way as to make Fili's blood boil.

"I can see you off _now_," Kili suggested with a smirk, rolling his hips just slightly beneath the king's hands. Fili could see Thranduil shudder at the young dwarf's wanton display.

"Out here in the open? Without even any bed to lay your lovely body upon? How…exciting," he said, half-purring as his young charge writhed teasingly against him…but then his nose wrinkled slightly as he caught the scent coming off of him. "You stink of dwarf, my little one."

"Well, I _am_ one, aren't I?" he teased.

"Kir-"

"All right, fine. You caught me. I was having a dwarf lad, but he's gone now. I'm all yours."

"Kir, you know how I feel about that," Thranduil started, almost as if he actually cared for him.

"I know, I know…but one does like to see something of one's own kind on occasion."

"I suppose I cannot begrudge you that. In the meantime, though, might I be allowed to show you how a _real_ lover gets things done?" he asked, slipping a hand between the young dwarf's legs. Kili's head fell slowly back and he groaned with want as his guardian rubbed and fondled the still-tender flesh.

"E-ever your servant…my king," Kili gasped, half-collapsing against the elf king's body as he continued to work between his thighs. It wasn't long at all before Thranduil had carried his favored paramour over to the giant tree the two brothers had so recently lain against, pushing him up against the bark and starting to strip him.

When he thought back on it, Fili decided it was best Kili had bound him, for he would have marched into the clearing there and then and throttled the king, magic or no magic. It tore at his basest instincts…to see Kili ravished this way…_used_. However, he was also horrified to acknowledge that the sight of his brother, naked and debauched like this, was a source of conflict for him. He shouldn't _like_ seeing this…his lover with someone else…but the sight of Kili's body caught in the throes of passion…the sounds that issued from his lips as the elf king thrust into him over and over again…he couldn't help the way his body reacted.

When Thranduil had at last finished with Kili, he simply allowed his body to slide off of his, crumpling to the forest floor, completely spent. Honestly, he looked more like he'd just run a hundred miles than been fucked against a tree. Thranduil bent over the exhausted dwarf, running possessive fingers over the marks Fili had left on his body. "Before you let another being mark you, my little one, remember who it is that owns your body," he soothed, dropping a kiss on Kili's lips before vanishing back into the forest.

Once the elf king was gone, Fili renewed his struggle, desperate to get to his brother, who lay unmoving on the forest floor. After a time, he weakly raised a hand and his prison of foliage fell away, allowing him to scramble to Kili's side.

"Are you all right? Are you all right?" he asked several times, gathering Kili's wasted body in his arms.

"I'm fine," Kili whispered, offering up a weak smile, though his eyes remained closed. "Just tired. He likes it rough. I…I'm sorry."

"For _what?_"

"That you had to see that. We…belong…to the king…the stolen children," Kili said, a glazed and faraway look apparent in his eyes when he opened them.

"No," Fili said, gently kissing the bite marks Thranduil had left over his. The elf king had actually drawn blood. "You've nothing to be sorry for. _I_ am the sorrier…for failing to protect you in the first place."

"What…what do you mean?" Kili asked, a note of confusion in his voice.

"Kili…my love…a long time ago…I had a baby brother…and I loved him more than words can say. He was the other half of my heart. But then…Thranduil came to our window…sang an enchantment…and stole my brother away. I couldn't stop him…couldn't save my brother. It broke my heart…and for so long, I thought him lost forever…until tonight."

"Oh…Fili…" the younger said softly, his eyes widening as realization blossomed behind them.

"The child Thranduil stole that night was _you_. _You_ are my little brother…my Kili…and I will _never_ let you go again," he said, pressing a tender kiss to his brother's forehead.

"Brother?" Kili whispered, slowly reaching up a hand to touch his blond locks. "I didn't…know I had one."

With that, the two long lost brothers burst into tears, weeping silently in joy as they fell into a fresh round of kissing. They might have gone right back to making love were Kili not so drained.

"Will you come home with me now, Kili? Everyone's been waiting for you to return. Mother will be so happy."

"I can't," Kili said sadly, looking away from his brother. "I told you before. I _belong_ to Thranduil…I always have. To take me away from you again, all he would have to do is call…and I would obey. I would have no choice in the matter."

"There must be _some_ way to break his hold over you," Fili insisted, twisting his fingers a little tighter in his brother's hair. Kili only shook his head.

"You would do better…to forget about me, my brother…my love. I'm already gone from this world," he said. If it was possible, his eyes went even sadder.

"What do you _mean?_"

Kili sighed. "Do you know…_why_ the elves steal children?"

"Not…so much. I suppose everyone's just always assumed they have a taste for fair flesh."

"More like a _need_ for it. You see…every seven years, they make a sacrifice to their gods. It preserves their youth and longevity. Only their laws state no elf may be given in tribute, so they steal the children of other races. The next sacrifice is in only a few weeks…when the moon is full again. Thranduil has told me…that _my_ time to be given in tribute has come."

For a moment, it did not sink in…but the next, Fili heard himself shouting, without even really being aware he'd begun.

"You…you…_NO!_ I _won't_ let them take you from me again! Not when I've only just found you! They can't…I won't let them…I can't lose you again!"

"Fili…please…don't do this to yourself," Kili said, fresh tears squeezing from his eyes as he reached a hand up to touch his brother's face. "There's nothing to be done."

"But you can't…why can't you just run away?" Fili asked, tears beginning to gather in his own eyes once again.

"You _know_ that wouldn't work. It doesn't matter how far I run. One word from his lips and I'd crawl back to him. I would even throw myself in the fire if he asked it of me. There's no way out of this, my love."

"No…there _has_ to be. I _will_ find a way to save you, Kili…even if it takes the very last breath from my body."

XxX

_The prince was as good as his word. He poured through the libraries, through every book the royal historian had access to, everything dwarf kind knew or thought it knew about elves. _

_Many books spoke of the stealing of children, but none made mention of the ritual sacrifice. The only thing the books seemed to agree on was that the elves required a child with no heart, which made no sense to the prince. His brother __**most certainly**__ had a heart. So…perhaps the cryptic lines had another meaning?_

_His answer came to him in the form of his uncle's consort…a hobbit from a land far away._

XxX

"Taken a sudden interest in elves, have we?" Bilbo's voice sounded in Fili's ear, snapping his attention up from the scroll he was currently pouring through.

"Bilbo, I…I apologize. I did not hear you."

"You've not heard much at all this last week. I think you're starting to worry Thorin and your mother. Years of having to tie you to a desk to get you to study and now suddenly the library is a temple. Why the curiosity?"

"I…I'm running out of time," was all he could manage to say.

Bilbo looked at him oddly for a moment before glancing down at the text he was studying.

"Stolen children? Like…like the baby prince?"

"Yes. I…I don't understand what it means…when it says elves need children without hearts."

"Oh, that's simple enough. It means they need children who are unloved."

Fili's eyes shot up to meet Bilbo's. "How do you know that?"

"My people were much friendlier with the elves in the elder days. Times have changed; elves and hobbits are friendly with no one now, but we still retain phrases such as that from our association with them. To be without a heart is to know no love…to be unloved. That's why they take them so young."

"Kili wasn't unloved," Fili snarled, his hands curling into fists. "He never has been. I _adored_ him. I love him with everything I am."

"Did _he_ know that? Can a babe understand such things? Even if he could, he wouldn't remember. Wherever Kili is, he has known nothing of love since he was taken."

"Why didn't you speak of this before?"

"It wouldn't have helped find him. Would it have made you feel better…to know that your brother would spend his life in a glass cage…that he would never be loved?"

Fili sighed heavily, his shoulders slumping in defeat as he looked away from his second uncle. At least the heartless, teasing behavior Kili had often displayed made a little more sense now. "No…though…do you think it might be possible to break the elves' hold on them…the stolen children?"

"Well…if they require unloved children…I would say it stands to reason that the only way to break the enchantment that binds them…is to prove that they are loved."

"And how does one _prove_ a thing like that?" Fili asked, running his fingers through his hair in frustration.

"If you love…love _truly_…then you must be willing to sacrifice all that you are for that love," Bilbo said, laying a smaller hand atop Fili's larger one. He and Thorin had gone through their own trials for their love, and he could see that Fili was now standing on the verge of that same trial.

"I _am_," Fili said, meeting the hobbit's gaze head on, his voice fierce with conviction.

"Then you have your answer already, Fili."

XxX

_There was only one way to save his brother's life…but there was also a very great possibility he might fail in his task. So, telling no one of his plans, the prince stole away from the castle, disappearing into the night, just as his brother had so many years before._

XxX

Kili opened his arms wide for Fili as he came running to him out of the trees. Fili swept him up and spun him around. The younger dwarf was nearly in tears as he pressed kiss after kiss to his older brother's face.

"You didn't come to me at all this week. I thought…I was afraid I'd never see you again."

"Oh, you won't be rid of me that easily. We'll be seeing a lot more of each other from now on. I _have_ it, Kili…the answer. I _know_ how to set you free."

Kili blinked in incomprehension. "How? How could you possibly-"

"Kili…I need to know…do you love me?"

For a moment, heart-stopping uncertainty shone in the younger dwarf's eyes. "I…I don't know. I mean…I think so…_hope_ so. I just…what does it feel like…to love?" he finally asked him.

"When Thranduil took you away from me…I felt like a part of my own heart had been ripped away. It didn't feel right again until we were one. When I see your eyes, I lose my breath, and I dream of your kisses in my sleep. When I see you cry…I want to change the world so it doesn't hurt you anymore. To see your smile is my happiness. I would give my life to save yours," he said, reaching forward to touch Kili's face. Kili leaned gratefully into the touch.

"Is that…what it feels like? To be in love?"

"Yes."

"Then…then yes…I think that's what this is. I _love_ you."

"And do you trust me?"

"Yes."

"Then I need you to do something for me."

"What?"

"I need you to call Thranduil for me."

For a moment, Kili just stared at him, eyes widening in horror. "_What?_"

"I need to speak with him."

"Are you mad?" Kili asked, his voice little more than a whisper. "Thranduil will _kill_ you."

"Maybe so…but if you are to die in two weeks' time, what difference does it make? Either my plan works or I die on this spot. I couldn't go on without you, Kili," he said, laying his hand on his brother's shoulders.

"And how would I live my last weeks…knowing I brought your death on you?" Kili returned, gazing back at him with a spark of anger in his eyes.

"With the knowledge that we will be together soon. We will live or die together. You said you trusted me. This is what trust is. My brother…my lover…will you do this for me?"

"But I…I don't know what will happen," Kili said, the fear beginning to return to his eyes.

"And that's why you trust me. This _will_ work," Fili said, his voice filled with more conviction than he felt.

For a long while, Kili just stood there, worrying his bottom lip and struggling not to meet his brother's gaze. But when he finally did, he nodded once before closing his eyes and leaning his head back.

"I trust you, Fili."

"Thank you," Fili said softly, pulling him into his arms and kissing him.

"Oh, my. I'd say the little dwarf has a death wish. Wouldn't you agree?" the elvin king's voice sounded in their ears. Kili made to leap away from Fili, but his brother held tight to him, slowly turning to face the elf, who was accompanied by a small entourage.

"Thranduil," Kili murmured, his mouth dry.

"Why did you call me, Kir? Has this boy been harassing you?"

"No," he mumbled, not meeting the king's eyes.

"Thranduil, elf king, I am Fili, son of Vili, prince of Erebor," the young prince announced himself.

"Yes," Thranduil sneered. "I know who you are. I remember. Twenty-one years ago, it was. I _told_ you the day would come your loyalty would get you into trouble. Was I right?"

"Let's find out," Fili said, replacing his arm around Kili's shoulders. "This dwarf is my brother, Kili. You stole him from me twenty-one years ago, and I now claim him."

"And what makes your claim over him any truer than ours?"

"I love him."

All of the elves visibly stiffened at this declaration and Thranduil's look of scorn quickly shifted to something chilling and dangerous.

"I see. And does our lamb return your _love?_" Thranduil asked, nearly snarling at Kili.

"He is…my life," Kili answered, finally looking up at Thranduil.

"Your _life?_ Well, my little one, what's to stop me from _ending_ your life right here?" Thranduil asked, a half-crazed look entering his eyes as he turned on Fili.

"It wouldn't make any difference," Fili warned him. "Even if you kill me tonight, it won't change the fact that…in life…I loved him. It won't change the fact that Kili was loved…and that he loved in return. He is _not_ unloved. He's _ruined_ for you."

Once again, the elf king's expression underwent a radical shift…this time from near feral to devious. He reached a hand forward to rest it on the prince's shoulder.

"You speak with the fire of one who is young, princeling. I would not so quickly give up my little treasure to your whims. After all, a quick fuck in the moonlight is hardly love. Yes, Kir, I _do_ know who you were with that night, so don't look so shocked," he added before turning his attention back to Fili. "If you would have me believe that you love my little bird, you will have to prove it to me."

"What do I have to do?"

Leaning down close to Fili, Thranduil seized his shoulder, pressing in close to whisper in his ear, "Anything I demand of you. If you deny me, even once, I will take it as a sign that you do not really care for your dove and send you forth from my halls with no memory that he ever existed."

For a moment, Fili looked stricken. Even worse than to lose Kili to the elvin bonfires…would be to lose even the _memory_ of him. To lose the image of his dark eyes and his smile, the gentle wave of his dark hair and the feel of his skin beneath his fingertips…the sound of his laugh and the feel of his name whispered between those full lips…to lose _him_…everything that he was…would be like dying. He might live for many hundreds more years, but if Thranduil stole even the _memory_ of his baby brother, Fili knew he would live as if he had already died…without ever even knowing why. Wordlessly, he nodded. He could not lose Kili. Not again. Not like this.

"Good boy," Thranduil said, releasing him. All at once, the young dwarf's legs gave out beneath him and he fell to his knees, trembling. Immediately, Kili was beside him, holding him.

"Fili! Fili, are you all right?!"

"That's exactly where you belong, isn't it," the king admonished the two brothers. "On your knees before me."

XxX

(A/N) To be concluded in Part 2.


	2. Part 2

**Part 2**

_In the following days, the dwarf prince enslaved himself to the elvin king's will, performing the most menial of tasks and debasing himself before the king's authority. Every task, the prince performed without complaint, no matter how humiliating or backbreaking. Everything he had to give was given gladly for the sake of the one whom he loved most of all._

_The hidden kingdom of the elves was beautiful to behold, but the prince saw none of it. His eyes were only for his brother. The king had hoped that, as happened with most outsiders who entered their land, the prince would fall prey to the many delights of his people…that he would taste their food, drink of their wine, and be pierced by their loveliness, and in the end forget that he had ever loved his brother. The prince was not taken in, though. He knew what he had to do, and he would not be distracted from his goal._

_There was yet one final card the king had not played, though._

XxX

Fili staggered under the weight of his own exhaustion, but Kili was at his side immediately, a shoulder for him to lean on as the two brothers made their way back to Kili's quarters. The younger dwarf had to half drag his brother to his bed most nights, as he could barely stand after the tasks Thranduil set upon him. Kili imagined the king would have taken exception to the two of them sharing a bed were it not for the fact he must have been absolutely certain Fili was too exhausted to try anything with Kili.

"Just two days," Fili said softly as Kili helped him lay down on the bed. "Two more days until the moon's full again."

"And Thranduil's showing no signs of easing. How do you _know_, Brother? Why are you so certain they'll give up their claim on me?"

"They _cannot_ kill you," Fili said, reaching a hand up and tangling it in Kili's hair, pulling him back down close to him, "not so long as we hold true to each other."

"That's what worries me," Kili said as he lay down beside his brother. "Thranduil hasn't tried to lie with you yet."

"Why should he?" Fili asked, turning onto his side to look at Kili. "I look only at you."

"But if he asks it of you, you will not be able to refuse him," Kili reminded him, reaching a hand forward to trail it along the line of his jaw. "And to lie with an elf…it can make you forget…"

Fili pulled his brother a little closer, pressing his lips to his in a searing kiss. "They have not made me forget. Their guile has not turned my head…and it never will. I will cleave to you…as flesh to bone."

"Aule, I _pray_ that's true," Kili said, their kisses becoming more and more frantic as they tore at each other's clothing. "Remember. _Remember!_ He'll want you to forget. _Please!_"

"Kili," the older prince soothed, even as the sparks between them ignited. He took his brother's hands and held them against his chest. "This is my heart…right here…in the space where we join. Without it, I am already dead. I _will not_ lose this."

Weeping openly now, the stolen child gave himself over to his lover's touch. It had been long since anyone but Thranduil had taken him, but he opened up for his brother gladly. Sex had never been a particularly satisfying activity for Kili; it was just something that people did. Sometimes, it felt good, but mostly it was just a hurried tangle of limbs and sweat. It hadn't been anything truly meaningful until the night he'd taken Fili hard against a tree. The rightness of it, the absolute bliss, had sung in his very blood. The same song reverberated throughout his being tonight as Fili moved in him, whispering his name against his sweat-slicked skin as he thrust into him from behind.

At first, Kili was positioned on all fours, completely exposed to his older brother and taking everything he had to give with tiny cries of delight. However, when the younger felt himself drawing close, Fili suddenly withdrew from his body, leaving him aching and desperate. Before he could even ask why, though, his brother was lifting him, turning him in his arms so that they faced each other, knees supported by the soft give of Kili's bed.

"Want…to see your _face_," Fili panted as he leaned in to kiss Kili's chest, his own skin tinged red with his _need_.

"Hngh…yes…_yes_," Kili moaned as the elder pushed him back against the wooden headboard, burying himself in his body once more. Kili actually screamed as his brother's first thrust struck the exact right spot. So close…_so close!_

Sobbing with his own desire, Kili reached between them and furiously started to stroke himself. Fili groaned harshly at the sight.

"Oh…hah…_yes_…"

"Mm…Brother…make…make me come!" he cried out. It took only one more thrust to send him spilling over his hand with a cry that could only be described as rapture. Before he'd even had a chance to come down from the high, Fili's own cry sounded in his ears and he was filled with his essence. Sighing in contentment, the younger dwarf felt his body fill with warmth and tenderness, from the tips of his toes to the top of his head. Had it been possible, he would have been overflowing with them, just as his body overflowed with his brother's seed.

Fili didn't even pull out of him. Mere moments after they'd both reached completion, he collapsed against Kili, quickly falling asleep in his arms. Kili chuckled quietly as he stroked his brother's mussed golden hair, content to remain exactly where he was.

"Oh, my love…you're so tired," he murmured, kissing the top of Fili's head as he felt sleep start to descend on his own mind.

_Well, one way or another…it will all be over in two days._

XxX

Fili wasn't particularly surprised when he was called to the king's bedchamber the following night…the night before the sacrifice was to take place. What he found a little harder to remain unsurprised about was the fact that Kili was there, too. He was kneeling on Thranduil's bed, already stripped naked, shoulders trembling…unable to meet Fili's eyes.

"As I'm sure you already know," Thranduil began, appearing from nowhere to stand beside the bed, laying a hand on Kili's hip, "Kir holds a special place among my lovers. He's my darling little dwarfling. The only trouble is that he hasn't been any fun in bed ever since he first lay with _you_. At first, I thought you might have ruined him for me, but then I thought…what if Fili _joins_ us? Perhaps _that_ will make things exciting for him again," he suggested, his hand trailing a little further down to ghost over Kili's sex. The young dwarf only squeezed his eyes shut.

"You…you wish me to lie with you?" Fili asked, forcing himself to go on looking at the elf king, keeping his face carefully blank.

"Mm, no…not quite. I know you quite enjoyed the show…that first night you watched me take him. Perhaps it tears at your soul, but you _like it_. You _like_ watching him get fucked…and whether or not he wants to admit it, he likes how hot you get seeing him like this. So I'd like you to _watch_. I want you to watch while I take your little brother…make him _come_ for me. Maybe he won't do it just for me anymore, but with _you_ watching, well…I'm pretty sure we can get our little one off between the two of us. What do you think?"

It took everything Fili had not to turn away in shame. True…it was all true…every last word. He didn't _want_ to put Kili through this, but if he refused Thranduil now, everything they had suffered would have been for nothing. So, swallowing heavily, he faced the elf king and his brother, nodding his acceptance.

"Good boy," Thranduil said, kneeling on the bed behind Kili and slipping a hand around front to work between his legs. At first, Kili looked like he might cry, but then the elf king took the tip of one pointed ear in his mouth and began to suck. Kili's mouth fell open and he allowed his head to fall back against Thranduil's neck…but it wasn't _his_ name he called as he began to groan.

"Fi…li…" he moaned, his eyes barely open as he gazed at his brother. Again, Fili swallowed, feeling his body begin to react to the sight of his lover.

Thranduil's hands roved over Kili's body, but his gaze was focused on Fili, leering as he watched him twist uncomfortably.

"I can _see_ how much you enjoy this, little prince. Don't deny it. Touch yourself. Let Kir see you," he urged. Fili couldn't see what his hands were up to at that moment, but that fact alone meant it was certainly something to do with Kili's backside.

The prince growled in heated frustration, but he did as he was bid, baring himself and stroking hastily, hoping to have this hideous task over with quickly.

Easily reading his intentions, though, the elf king changed his tactics. If the sudden, harsh movements of their hips didn't indicate that Thranduil had thrust into Kili, then the way his brother screamed in pain certainly did.

"Kili!" he shouted, taking a step forward before being stopped by Thranduil's glare.

"What? A dwarf can't handle a little rough sex?"

"You're _hurting_ him!"

"And it is my _right_, if I so choose. Do you defy my command, Fili?"

Shaking with rage, Fili slowly shook his head. "No."

"Good. We will continue, but I will give you one last warning. You _will_ watch this, and you _will_ take your pleasure of this sight. If you fail in this, or if you look away, then our agreement will be forfeit. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Fili said, taking hold of himself once again. He had lost what little arousal he'd had and he had a lot of ground to cover now.

Kili had gone limp in Thranduil's arms. He had also lost the hardness he'd had, but the moment the king touched him again, it began to return. Thranduil had never been this rough with him before; he was in intense pain…and yet the feel of the elf king's hands on his body could still arouse him. He was still held in thrall to his power. As torn as he was between pain and pleasure, he did not want his brother to suffer anymore than was necessary, so he tried to make it easier for him. Even though his face was streaked with tears, he groaned with desire. He knew well how to fake want.

"Fili…Fili…Brother," he cried out.

_I feel you. I feel the heart of you. Though we cannot touch…we are still together…through all bliss and all pain._

"Touch me," the younger dwarf urged, the words only for his lover.

Fili took the message for what it was, stroking himself a little harder.

"Kili…my Kili…" he called softly, struggling with the tears in his own eyes. He mustn't shut them. He _mustn't!_

"I love you," Kili called to him, smiling, even though he was in pain.

"And I you," Fili panted, leaning back against the door as the muscles in his legs began to quiver, barely able to support his weight. He was close, and he could see that Kili was, too. "Love you…_so much_."

Even though they were separated by six feet and a hopeless task, the two brothers had never been so close…so _attuned_ to each other. They breathed one breath and their hearts beat as one.

_I am with you._

"Ah…hah…_Fili!_" the younger cried out, his body going rigid in the king's embrace as he came into his hand. Fili felt his toes curl in his boots as he followed him over the edge.

Unfortunately, their moment of perfect union was over almost the moment it had begun.

Still caught in the throes of his orgasm, Fili suddenly found himself seized, turned about, and slammed against the door. Before he'd even realized what was happening, his trousers were gone and he could hear Kili crying out.

"No! Don't! Please, don't! My brother, he's…_my brother!_ You…you _can't do this!_"

The next thing Fili became aware of was the painful wrenching of his right arm as Thranduil twisted it up painfully behind his back. The left was pinned between his torso and the door.

"What…what's…"

"I didn't want to command this of you. It had to be taken…_willingly_," Thranduil hissed in his ear as he thrust into him, a hand that was still slick with Kili's seed squeezing at his sex, "and you are…_quite willing_."

Only then did Fili realize what was happening…and was horrified to find himself growing hard in the king's hand. He tried to struggle, but he was already caught in the unyielding press of Thranduil's power.

"You may have been able to fight me in the past, but no longer…not like this."

All at once, Fili was helpless. As he fell deep into the grip of enchantment, he could hear two very distinct sounds: the sound of Kili screaming was in his ears…but the sound of Thranduil's singing was in his head and heart. He hardly noticed as his body broke for the elf king, laying him bare to his most devastating magic.

_For he comes, the mortal child,_

_To the waters and the wild,_

_With a faerie, hand in hand,_

_From a world more full of weeping than_

_He can understand._

He was caught. He had no will to resist as tendrils of dark magic pierced his soul and cocooned his heart, locking it away from the world…from everything he loved. The last thing he heard before he was completely gone was the sound of Kili crying his name.

_He's…crying._

Fili's eyes were already dead before the act was even complete. Kili had tried…he had tried _so hard_, but he just couldn't get to his feet, too much in pain from Thranduil's brutality. He'd only managed to drag himself off the bed. Even though he _knew_ he was too late…_knew_ he had lost his brother forever…he continued to drag himself forward.

When the king had finished, he let the prince's body slide to the floor. Fili just lay slumped there against the door, still as death, eyes wide and unseeing.

"No! _No!_" Kili sobbed, dragging himself the last few inches to his fallen love. The older dwarf still drew breath, but _he_ was gone. His spirit had been stolen.

"Hmm, I may have overdone it a little," Thranduil said as he surveyed his work. "I'd only meant to take his memory. But this suits me just as well."

"Fili! _Fili!_" the shattered dwarf cried as he wrapped his arms around him, burying his face in his nearly still chest. "I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. _Are you listening?!_" he cried, even though he knew his voice would never be able to reach Fili where he was now.

"It's no more than he deserves, Kir. You were foolish…to think you could ever know real love. For how can this prince love you…if he doesn't even know who you are?"

"Can you…ever bring him back…from where you've sent him?" Kili asked.

"Perhaps…not until the full moon has passed, though."

"No…of course not. I wouldn't…_dream_ of asking such a thing. I would only…_pray_ you give my brother his life back."

"That I can grant. He can even keep his memory of you. He did not defy me, after all."

"No," Kili said, his resolve strong, though his voice was still run through with tears. "No. I would not have him burdened by the memory of me. When you…send him back to his family…to the people who love him…give him back all of his memories…except for the ones of me. Take away the memory of my birth…of my existence. I would have Fili live in peace…after I'm gone. Only…only wait until it is done…to send him back."

"Why?"

"I don't…I don't want to be alone."

"As you wish, my Kir. Do with him what you will. He's little more than a vegetable right now," Thranduil said, dismissing them with a wave of his hand.

Still weeping softly, Kili gathered his brother in his arms and carried him back to his own room, even though every step hurt like sharp knives burying themselves in his body. Back in his bedchamber, he laid him out comfortably on the bed. Then he knelt beside him, reaching out to tangle his fingers in his golden hair for what he knew would be the last time.

"This isn't love, Fili…what I've done to you. This is _torture_…sickness…_greed_. I thought I could keep you, but…look what I've done to us. I have…twisted your love…and turned it into darkness. I am a stolen child…I'm not…not _capable_ of real love. I can only bring you despair. So I will go away…somewhere I can never bring harm to you again. I only pray, my brother, that you live well…that you find happiness…someone who fills your soul with joy…as I never could. I don't deserve it, but…find real love…for my sake. As twisted as I am…as mangled as my heart is…I love you, Fili…but you deserve so much better. You deserve _true_ love…so I release you…to go forth and find it."

With that, Kili bent down and pressed a chaste kiss to his brother's lips…a kiss to replace forever.

XxX

_The stolen child spent his last day in a haze. He drifted from place to place, unable to bear the emptiness of his brother's gaze. The elves offered him unimaginable delights for his last day on earth, but he couldn't bring himself to care about any of them. Ever since the light had left his brother's eyes, his world had gone grey. He had seen tributes before him happy to be ascending in this way, but he just felt heavy, weighed down by sorrow…so __**ready**__ for everything to just stop._

_When at last the hour came, the elves bathed their tribute and dressed him all in white. The prince stood with the other elves to witness the ceremony, as cold and empty as a starless night._

XxX

The sacred grove was the one place in all of elvendom the stolen children were not permitted to see…not before it was their time, at least. To Kili, it didn't seem all that different from any other neck of the woods…or rather it didn't until the procession of elves came through the trees to the entrance of a cave. The procession had been stopped all of a minute when a spark of flame flared to life deep within the cavern. It wasn't long at all before that spark had blossomed into a raging inferno, blazing forth from the mouth of the cave. With it came a voice that was part angel…and part demon.

"Who among you do you name as tribute?" the voice called. At once, the elves parted ranks to reveal Kili, standing at the back of the somber procession.

"I see you, my child. Come. Come be with the ancestors."

Briefly, Kili felt the stir of enchantment in his blood, but it wasn't that which compelled him. It was the faint stirring of warmth in his heart…the thought that both he and his brother would soon be at peace. Before he began his last trek into night, though, he turned his gaze to his brother one last time.

Fili was standing with Thranduil, staring at nothing. He moved where he was led and looked where he was pointed, nothing more. Blinking tears from his eyes, Kili smiled at him, taking his hands in his and resting his forehead against his, breathing in the scent of him for the last time.

"Goodbye, my love. A thousand times goodbye," he whispered against his lips. Then he withdrew, taking one last look before turning to face his destiny alone. The emptiness in Fili's eyes hadn't changed.

_He's…crying._

As the young tribute walked away, the prince's fingers began to twitch…as if aching to reach out…to grasp him. Something stirred within…something buried so deep it was almost gone.

_You are…my love._

The rest of the world seemed to fade away around Kili as he moved through the corridor of elves. He could vaguely hear them chanting…songs of mourning and celebration…but mostly he could just feel the heat of the fire, growing stronger with every step.

Fili, meanwhile, was struggling within himself. There was something important…something he must not lose…but he couldn't…

_He's going. You're losing him. Damn it, you're __**losing him!**_

Who? Who was he losing? Something…so important…Mahal, he was _dying_ without it. But what?

_No! Don't leave me! I love you! I will __**die**__ without you! Don't go!_

As the struggle between the spell and his heart grew to a fever pitch, the prince fell to his knees, clutching at his head.

"No…no…don't…" he groaned in pain.

Had Kili looked back even once, he would have witnessed his brother's struggle, but he did not look back. His gaze was singularly focused on the blaze that was soon to consume him. He could feel the warmth reaching out to embrace him.

Fili looked up, his eyes fixing on the retreating white figure…moving ever farther out of his reach.

_Can't lose him. Can't! But…who is he?_

His mind was assaulted by the feel of a kiss, pressed warm and tender against his lips. He felt…complete. Soft dark hair twined in his fingers and mischievous dark eyes gazed into his. There was pain, frustration, anger…but there was also love, light, and happiness.

_I swore to you…that I wouldn't let you go…ever again…__**ever**__…__**again!**_

Suddenly a blinding smile lit his memory, filling his heart with an emotion so powerful it was too strong to ignore.

"_I love you, Fili."_

All at once, the spell was broken, and Fili was watching his only love about to consign himself to a wall of fire.

"_KILI!_" he screamed, his voice echoing out across the night.

The moment the younger dwarf heard the sound of his brother's voice, he froze where he was. Could it…be?

"Fili?" he whispered, mouth going dry. He didn't dare to let himself look.

The moment the dwarf prince was awake, he was running. None of the elves attempted to stop him, so shocked were they at the interruption. Kili was mere feet from the blaze when Fili caught him in his arms.

"Kili, _stop!_ Don't do this!"

"Fili, you…you have to let me go."

"I'll _die_ first!" Fili snarled.

_You might want to listen to him,_ Thranduil's voice in his head advised.

"No," he ground out. "I will _never_ let go of him!"

_We'll see about that._

The air around them seemed to hold its breath for an infinitesimal moment…before Fili suddenly found himself clutching a warg in his arms.

In his moment of shock, the prince almost let go…_almost_…but he was able to remind himself it was still Kili he was holding, and kept his arms locked fast around the dangerous creature.

What followed was a trial of shapeshifting, through numerous deadly forms of all different shapes and sizes: a bear, a venomous snake, a choking tangle of vines, a poisonous spider that Fili nearly lost, thorned plants, fanged and clawed beasts…Fili held fast through it all and Kili remained as dormant as his forms would allow, vowing not to harm his brother, no matter what shape Thranduil forced him to take.

When this first round failed to dislodge the young prince, Thranduil moved on to even harder forms: ice, a tiny seed, a handful of snow that quickly melted into water, a sliver of wood, a strand of fine gold wire, an unhilted blade that cut his hands…a handful of salt. Through agony and torture, Fili remained steadfast, never relinquishing his hold.

_Come on, you foolish child. Just __**let him go!**_

"_NO!_" Fili screamed. "I'd rather be _dead!_"

_Then so __**be it!**_

With that, Kili became fire.

Fili screamed in agony as the flames began to burn through his skin, but he kept his hold. Kili screamed right along with him, horrified at the sight of his own flame licking away long strips of his brother's flesh.

_Fili, let go! You __**have**__ to! You'll __**die!**_

"Then I will…die with you," he hissed as his skin burned.

_No. No, this __**can't happen!**_ Kili cried out in his head. _Sweet Valar, take me now, __**please!**_

At his prayer, the fire was suddenly pulled away from Fili's arms…pulled to join the roaring conflagration. For a single moment, Fili could see the image of his brother impressed upon the flames. A single fiery hand reached across the space between them as tears of ash fell from the spectre's eyes.

"I cannot…let you die."

Then there was a blinding flare of light and the raging fire winked out in no more than the blink of an eye.

When Fili was finally able to turn his eyes back to the spot where his brother had been, nothing remained…nothing except the bejeweled white shirt Kili had worn, now tattered and blackened with ash.

"_NOO!_" Fili screamed in anguish, crawling into the cave, unable to stand for the burns on his skin. Gathering the shirt in his arms and clutching it against his chest, the dwarf prince's screams of grief and denial soon rent the night air.

"Kili, _why?!_ Why did you leave me?" he sobbed. "I would have held you…until the end. _Why?!_"

As the prince wept helplessly, he did not see the gathering of elves beyond the cave all fall to their knees in unison, nor hear the hush that fell over the grove. He knew nothing until a hand suddenly lifted his face up by the chin and he found himself staring up at an elf lady clothed all in white with long blonde hair flowing down her back like a cascade of water.

"Why do you weep, young one?" she asked him. Her face and voice were gentle, but Fili was hurt, grief-stricken, and angry, so he lashed out.

"Why? _Why?_ I love him! I _love_ him…with all my soul. I did…everything they asked…and they killed him…anyway. Where…where did my Kili go? _Give me back my baby brother! GIVE HIM BACK!_"

The elvin lady offered him a sad smile as she knelt in front of him. "It is a grievous thing…what has been done here tonight…for I believe that you truly did love him…and that he loved you in return."

"No," Fili whispered, tears still streaming down his face. "Not…'did love'…don't talk about it like that. I will _always_ love him…until the very last breath leaves my body."

"Love…true love…one who is chosen in tribute must be able to give all of his love to the Valar. This cannot be so with a child who has known love. That is the reason why the law was laid down as it was…and the reason why, on this one night, the gates of death may be made to move in reverse."

Fili's breath caught in his throat as he looked up at her again. The elvin lady held her hands up to the moon in supplication. The pale light shone down to the mouth of the cave, the space just above the elf's arms shining just a little brighter…until it suddenly shaped itself into a dwarf and Kili was lying in her arms. He was naked as the day he was born, but so undeniably _there_ as the elf lady laid him with his brother, his head resting in his lap. Fili held his breath as he bent down over him, pressing an ear to his lips…and nearly melting with relief when he felt the sweet ghost of breath across his skin.

"He's alive," he whispered, his tears now of relief.

"Kili," the lady called softly, brushing her fingers through his hair. "Kili, you can go home now."

Slowly, Kili's eyes opened, and he looked up at the elf who had spared his life. "But…they said I-"

"Kili," she interrupted gently, "you gave your _life_ for your brother. Never let _anyone_ tell you you don't love him. Go home."

Kili's expression was caught on the edge of smiling as he looked up at Fili, as if he wasn't certain he should allow himself to.

"Kili…"

"We can…go home?"

Both weeping, the brothers just hugged for several minutes, too overcome for anything else.

"Bathe in the river that divides the two realms," the elvin lady advised them. "There your wounds will be healed. Now," she continued, addressing the elves, "where is this king who would defy commandment and attempt to give us a child so loved…a child who would lay down his life for his love? Who would do this?"

Thranduil said nothing as he stood forward to face the ethereal lady. For a long time, they just stared at each other. Thranduil was the first to look away. It was plain what this otherworldly beauty asked with her eyes.

"I could not…bear the shame," he said quietly, "to be so bested by a dwarfling."

"Then you understand the consequences."

The elf king's hands dropped to his sides. "By your will, my lady Galadriel."

With this, Galadriel began to sing…a very different variation of the faerie song than had ever before been heard.

_Come away, immortal child,_

_To the waters and the wild,_

_With a faerie, hand in hand,_

_For death knows less of weeping than_

_You can understand._

The flush of enchantment was apparent in Thranduil's face as he moved slowly toward Galadriel. Holding out her hands to him, she smiled at him as he came to her. Then he took her hands and they both disappeared in another blinding flash of light. When Fili and Kili could look again, they found themselves alone at the mouth of the cave. All the other elves had vanished.

"It's…over?" Fili whispered, barely comprehending.

"Yes," Kili said, reaching up to touch the hair he thought he'd never be able to touch again. "They…they do not linger where they are defeated. Fili?"

"Yes?"

"Can…can we go home now?"

"Yes," Fili said, smiling down at his brother. "Of course. Anything you want."

Both brothers were still injured and weak, Kili having just been raised from the dead and Fili still badly burned, so their going through the forest was slow, but they managed, supporting each other. Fili draped what remained of his coat around his brother's shoulders, covering him just a little. Neither really had any idea of how much time passed before they arrived at the riverbank.

Being careful of each other, they moved slowly into the cool water. Immediately, Fili began to feel it soothe his tortured flesh and Kili felt himself revitalized, more alive than he'd ever felt in all his days. Luxuriating over the experience, the two brothers made certain to douse every inch of the other's body.

At the end of their impromptu bath, they climbed up on the opposite shore, tumbling into each other's arms. Fili pinned Kili to the ground and kissed him hard…desperate.

"Mahal, Kili! I thought I'd lost you," he said, pressing kisses to every inch of his little brother's face.

"Mm…for a moment there, you did," Kili said, briefly glancing away from him. When he looked back, he seemed almost…nervous. "Would you like to know why they let me return?"

"Because…because you're loved," Fili said, slightly confused.

"Yes…but they _realized_ this because…because when I consigned myself to the flames…I was with child."

For a moment, Fili just stared, dumbstruck. He had heard of such things…elvin men falling pregnant, but…Kili was not an _elf_. How could it be?

"When elves…come together…a child will only be created if there is love between two consenting partners; under any other circumstances, there would be no child…and I have lived among the elves long enough for their magic to affect me in this way."

"So…so you…" Fili struggled with the words, unable to say them out loud.

Kili nodded slowly. "I'm going to have a child…_your_ child."

For a long while, Fili just stared down at his brother, a look of shocked amazement in his eyes…but as the silence continued to stretch, Kili started to feel afraid.

"Please…please say something, Brother. Are…are you…ashamed? Will it shame your family to have your brother bear you a child?"

Fili blinked several times in confusion. What was Kili speaking of? Only then did he realize Kili thought he was angry with him.

"Oh, no…Kili, no…it's nothing like that. It's not…I just…it wasn't what I was expecting to hear. I'm happy," he said, his face breaking into a beaming smile as he kissed his brother yet again. "I am, I was just…so amazed. I love you, Kili."

"And they…they won't mind? Our…our family?" Kili asked, his expression uncertain.

"Of course not. They'll just be so happy to have you back. We were all devastated when Thranduil took you. There are some who might care, but they don't have to know. No one else has to know. All they will know is that my brother's child follows me to the throne, as I will follow our uncle. Everything will be all right now, Kili."

"You've…no idea…how long I've waited to hear that," Kili said, snuggling even closer to his brother, relieved to at last feel safe in the arms of the one who loved him.

XxX

_It was just as the prince said. The lost prince was welcomed back with open arms and tears of joy. The secret of the child to be born was kept among the members of the royal family and the child who had once been lost was kept hidden a little while longer…until after the baby's birth._

_When their son was born, he was named as the prince's nephew and crowned a royal prince, attaining the title of heir apparent when his father at last ascended to the throne._

_Together at last, and raising their child, the two brothers never had to trouble themselves with elves again. And of course, because you are wondering, they did indeed live happily ever after._

XxX


End file.
